


When You Wish Upon a Star

by ChloeWinchester



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Child Abuse, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, M/M, Shota, Star John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-01
Updated: 2015-04-01
Packaged: 2018-03-20 16:45:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3657792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloeWinchester/pseuds/ChloeWinchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five year-old James Moriarty wishes for a friend to save him from his pain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When You Wish Upon a Star

**Author's Note:**

> It is character death, but not how you think~

Once upon a time in an awful place, a little boy hurt. The touches that met the child were never ones of love or care, only anger and sick desire. The tiny child with black hair and bruises to match spent every one of his nights in tears, dreaming of distant happiness on a wet pillowcase and uttering prayers to a God that never answered.

One night the boy looked out his window, wide brown eyes raw with pain. That’s when the star streaked across the sky. Now, the boy had been through so much, even at five years old, and believing in magic was something he’d fought to give up. But just this once, just tonight, the boy decided to believe one more time. Those eyes shut tight.

“Please,” the little Irish voice fragile as a champagne glass. “I need a friend. Someone who will smile at me and give me warm hugs and play with me. A friend that won’t laugh at how I talk and likes to read and go on adventures. I just want a friend to love me. And I’ll love them too. Honest.” He sniffled, staring up at the inky sky as if his answer would spell itself. But nothing happened.

The small ember of hope that had put light back in innocent eyes died. Snuffed out. Dreams didn’t come true. Wishes sure didn’t either.

He turned back to cry himself to sleep when a brilliant golden light flashed behind him.He gasped and rolled over, looking out the window to see a smoking crater in the backyard.

The child snuck down the stairs and out the back door, running as fast as his little legs would carry him and peeked into the glowing crater.

A star, it seemed, had fallen. The star was shaped like another little boy, but he had to be a star. His hair was gold, there were flecks of gold dust all around him. Or maybe…

The little boy gasped and gently shook the shoulder of the star boy. “Hey, are you alright?” He squeaked.

The star boy opened his bright blue eyes, naked as the day is long but not cold like the human looking at him. He sat up with a smile and gave a shy wave. The human boy smiled as well for the first time in what felt like centuries.

“Hello,” he said. The star boy giggled, stardust falling from his hair. The human boy offered his hand. “Do you want to be my friend?” The starboy clapped his hands and giggled again, taking the human’s.

“My name’s James!” He exclaimed, helping the starboy out of the crater. “What’s yours?” The other boy shook his head.

“No name,” he said in a warm voice that made James’ stomach burst with warmth.

“I’ll give you one!” James proclaimed. “It’ll be a nice name. Something wonderful. Like John!” He gasped.  “How about John? Do you like John?” The starboy nodded eagerly, grinning.

“Oh yes, I like that name. I like John. I’m John,” he grinned. “And you’re James!”

James squeezed John’s hands, grinning. “You’re gonna be my friend, huh? Just like I wished?” John nodded.

“I wanna be your friend!”

James and John hugged, the dark haired boy giggling as stardust fell over him, John’s eyes glowing with happiness.

~*~

James had to keep John a secret from the people that owned the house, showing him a special hiding place in the closet that John had to jump in at night when things got bad. James instructed him to stay put and cover his ears until he came and got him.

John liked the game, but he didn’t like that every time James came back for him his legs were shaking and he was crying. Sometimes James’ pajamas were ripped or his pants were gone but John didn’t think he’d like being asked where they went.

They played games all day; Arthur and his knights and John always being Arthur because of how brave he was, dragons and soldiers and burglars. They told stories and went for rides on John’s little clouds and skipped rocks in the creek.

And when James would come to John after John played hide and don’t peek with bruises or cuts John gave them a little kiss and they went away. Sometimes James would hug him and cry into his shoulder for a long, long time. Sometimes he’d pat John’s head and say that he was just going to go to bed now. Sometimes he’d stay in the closet with him and curl against his chest while John played with his hair and sang songs in a language that James didn’t know.

“What’s it like where you live?” He asked on one of those nights. “Is it nice?”

John nodded. “Oh yes, it’s very nice. The clouds are fluffy and you can bounce on them and make a bunch of shapes out of them. The sky’s real blue and sometimes you can play in the water on the clouds or in the snow! And I can gather up bunches of stars and scatter ‘em over the sky and make new pictures every night! After I take my bath in the moon, though.” He paused, his face falling a little. “It’s not so fun all alone. Sometimes it’s real lonely. And scary. And making cloud friends isn’t as fun as playing with a real one.”

James nodded, hugging tighter around his middle. “No grownups or ouches?” John shook his head.

“Nope. Just me.”

James looked at him, eyes wet. “Can I go there with you?” John frowned.

“But you live here?”

“No,” James shook his head. “I don’t like it here. I hate it here, I want to go in the sky with you! Please.” John looked even more sad.

“I can’t get you up there,” he said softly. “You’re too heavy. You’d fall right through the clouds. And there’s nothing for you to eat up there, James. You gotta stay here.”

The little boy broke down into tears and broke John’s little heart. “I’ll always be here with you. I’ll be here, James.”

James continued to cry, clinging to John as if he were a lifeline and the only thing to keep him safe.

Things went on like that for some time, the boys the best of friends and absolutely inseparable. They held hands and kissed noses and cheeks, picked flowers for the other, ran through fields of dandelions and chased ducks. They told ghost stories huddled under his blanket and stared out the window at the stars with the warm summer air coming in and John pointed to each one and told James its name. Those were the best days. Juice mustaches and peanut butter and jelly, when James was allowed to eat and cuddling to sleep on good nights.

But then the Bad Night came.

James and John had fallen asleep in James’ bed on accident, tangled up together in their innocence and sleeping soundly.

The door crashed open and there was no hope for John to hide.

The Monster Man, large and stinking of drink stared James down as if he were a piece of meat, rage and hunger in his eyes. He cursed and bellowed seeing John, calling James foul and awful names and charged at them both.

John hid behind James as he shielded him, shaking with his golden little curls trembling with him. James was scared but he would save his friend from being hurt like he was, he would not let the Monster Man hurt them. When he moved James shoved John off the bed and pointed out the window.

“RUN, JOHN! RUN AWAY HOME AND DON’T COME BACK! RUN!” The little dusted footpints left in the boys’ wake were still glowing as he made a cloud and started to fly away. He reached back toward James, reaching for him to at least get him out. The boy had scurried to the window, jumping and reaching out for him.

Their fingertips brushed and James was yanked back into the darkness by his hair, John’s cloud taking off. John screamed and kept reaching, tears of light spilling down his cheeks. “JAAAAAAAAAMES!”

The child was beaten without mercy by the Monster Man, John safely away in his home. His friend that he had loved and that had loved him far away from the man’s fists and stinking breath and rough hands. That kept him smiling and left light from the starboy, his wish, in his eyes.

But a tiny body can only be struck so many times.

Darkness can overtake a head that hit the bed frame too hard and never let it wake.

A baby boy’s life can die out with the boy still smiling because he had done well.

~*~

John hugged his knees and cried into them, making his own little rain shower. He would never see James ever again. He’s likely never make another friend either and it made his shattered heart throb with pain. He continued to sob for some time.

Until he felt a little shock on his head.

He jumped, looking up.

A little boy with black hair and lightning in his eyes gave him a little wave.

John gasped and jumped up, hugging him so tight.

“I get to stay with you now, John!”

He giggled at the tickle James’ skin gave, a tingle. The boy stepped back and showed John how the little volts of electricity jumped from his fingers and went far away, making the clouds around them grumble. John giggled and clapped his hands.

James held John’s hand like he used to, running with his friend in their new home, little gold stardust prints and little patches of black cloud left in their wake.


End file.
